22nd March 2017, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain 

The General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), the global umbrella of Islamic financial institutions in collaboration with the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) launched this morning the third Roundtable Meeting of the Directors of Operations and Investment of Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs), with the theme: “Bringing Islamic Investment of IFIs to the Next Frontier”. The meeting will continue today and tomorrow, in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.

The delegates were welcomed by opening remarks of Mr. Abdelilah Belatik, Secretary General of CIBAFI, as well as Prof. Mohamed Azmi Omar, Director General of IRTI, followed by a welcoming address by Mr. Khalid Hamad, Executive Director of Banking Supervision, Central Bank of Bahrain.

The Meeting gathered nearly 40 C-Level Senior Executives of Islamic Investment and Operations from MENA, GCC, South East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, Africa (Sub-Saharan Africa), and Europe to explore means to strengthen private banking and investment capabilities of Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs).

The aim of this Meeting is to discuss methods that could reinforce private banking and investment capabilities of the IFIs. It likewise intends to open the floor for the Islamic finance industry senior executives to share the best practices of strategic Islamic investment and finding feasible exit routes for IFIs’ investment, which are aligned to investment account holders’ risk preferences.

The first session of the roundtable meeting has highlighted key issues on strengthening IFIs’ participation and strategies in the infrastructure and project finance. The session provided insights into key opportunities and challenges on energy, infrastructure and project finance in emerging countries. In addition, the session also shed light on risk factors, hedging techniques, and innovative project finance. The best approach of Shariah-compliant project financing to PPP projects in emerging countries has also been touched upon in the session.

The second session has shed light on the area of enhancing private banking capabilities of IFIs discussing the gaining from the consistent growth trajectory of Muslim wealth. The discussion was focused on key market trends in Muslim-majority countries and implications for Shariah-compliant wealth managers. It has also discussed sub-segmentation of UHNW, HNW, and affluence in Muslim-majority countries. Incorporating private banking capabilities into investment account products of IFIs has been the highlight of the discussion.

The following sessions are expected to look into promotion of direct Equity Investment of IFIs focusing on Islamic Private Equity strategies beyond Real Estate sector. The session will give an overview on the key trends and core drivers of private equity opportunities in emerging countries. Session will shed the light on the best practices in value creation strategies of Islamic Private Equity in emerging markets. The session will end by exploring various risk mitigation techniques for emerging markets’ Islamic Private Equity.

Day two of the meeting is set to kick off with a session focused on developing State-of-the-art Investment strategies in Islamic finance. Other sessions will cover topics such as incorporating sustainability criteria in Islamic investment framework and will conclude by a special session on countries’ experiences and opportunities.

This Meeting has greatly benefitted from the participation of CIBAFI members from over 17 countries, a wide spectrum of the Islamic finance industry ranging from Islamic banks to regulators, policy makers and professional firms.

This meeting is the third that is jointly organized by CIBAFI and the Islamic Development Bank Group since 2015.

The first meeting, themed “Internationalisation Strategies for Islamic Financial Institutions”, was held in February 2015 in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, while the second, themed “Building Technical Capabilities to Generate Sustainable Islamic Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Finance”, was held in March 2016, in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The meetings are in line with CIBAFI’s third strategic objective on increasing awareness and information sharing through collaborations with industry stakeholders, and are also part of IRTI’s responsibility to address the critical issues facing the Islamic finance industry and to promote economic development through Shariah-compliant finance initiatives.

-Ends-

About the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI)
CIBAFI is an international organization established in 2001 and Headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain. CIBAFI is affiliated with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). CIBAFI represents the Islamic financial services industry globally, defending and promoting its role, consolidating co-operation among its members, and with other institutions with similar interests and objectives. With over 120 members from over 31 jurisdictions, representing market players, international intergovernmental organizations and professional firms, and industry associations.

For more information about CIBAFI, please visit www.CIBAFI.org   
Tel: +973 17357300 
Email: media@cibafi.org

About Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI)
The Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) is a Member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group responsible for enabling the development and sustenance of a dynamic and comprehensive Islamic financial services industry, which supports socio-economic development in Member Countries and Muslim Communities worldwide. IRTI was established in 1401H (1981), and serves as the IsDB Group’s primary organizational unit for the delivery of Islamic finance research, capacity development, advisory, technical assistance, information, and Islamic financial products development. 

For more information about IRTI, please visit www.irti.org 
Tel: +966126361400 Email: irti@isdb.org

© Press Release 2017